The house is done!

Today{s construction crew put in a long morning--but when they left the site, the house was up and roofed with corrugated tin. Nan, Claire, Bridgit, Katie, Deb and Morgan were all part of the construction crew. They had help from the family who will live in the house--a grown son worked with us all week, the dad was there today, and one of the youngest members of the family tried to help. He wanted to keep the waterbottles filled--but didn{t know we drink agua pura instead of water from the village{s supply!

Alex and Charlotte made three home visits with a social worker. They had fun at one home where the family makes tortillas to sell by the basketful. They asked if they could watch the tortilla makers, a grandmother and her teen-aged or young adult granddaughter. Before long, Alex and Charlotte were slapping a tortilla each into shape. The family cooked them and enjoyed watching them eat them. Sarah was in the daycare rooms playing with pre-schoolers.

Joanie and Stacey were in San Rafael all day. Fortunately, Stacey took along arts and crafts ideas and supplies with which to engage children who were waiting to be seen in the clinic. Eventually Stacey got to visit with the child she is sponsoring, Joanie{s child{s family was working in the fields all day and that meeting didn{t take place. What a disappointment!

During the afternoon, a much smaller construction crew--Bridget, Sarah and Charlotte--delivered materials to San Rafael so that next week another team will be able to build a house for a family there. We thought they{d have to continue levelling the site, but the family had worked hard and there was no need to get the pick axes going again. (Correction to the previous post--the crew broke 5 of the 6 pick axes they{d used to break up the soil.)

Nan and Claire and Deb and Morgan were off on home visits with social workers and Katie visited a girl she and her grandmother have sponsored throughout Katie{s high school years. Conversation was a little slow, but they both enjoy soccer and discovered some other similar interests.

After supper, it seemed good to take a little time off and go into town--Charlotte and Abby arranged it so we could go to Antigua (2.5 km) for ice cream cones at Marco Polo{s and some shopping at Nim Pot. Most of us came home with at least a few souvenirs or gifts for folks at home.

The weather{s been great! It{s cool enough in the early morning and evening that we{re glad to have fleece jackets or sweatshirts. It{s the rainy season but we haven{t had rain since Sunday. Afternoons are hot and sunny. In Guatemala, temperatures tend to depend on elevation. Because we are close to the equator, it gets dark much sooner than in Duluth--it{s quite dark by 7:00 or so. Take care.